A/N: I don't own the Wrestlers.

Something To Believe In

CH 21: Camaraderie

Catering is a zoo. I don't think anyone believed she'd actually go through with it. When we get back there, everyone stops what they're doing and stares at us. I lead the group to our table, Matt trailing along. When Michelle arrives, it's silent. Finally someone- I have no idea who- starts to clap. Then, the next thing we know, the room is full of applause. Michelle grins at me and takes a bow before joining us at the table. "That was really something," Matt says, as he hands her a water bottle.

"Thanks," she says, grinning, "but it's all Cuddle Monkey. He did the actual hard work."

"There's no way I'd give up my hair," Matt says with a chuckle. "So you're much braver than I am."

"It's just hair!" she says. "Why does everyone think it's a huge deal?" She turns to me. "You're totally donating it to kids with cancer or something, right?"

"Yep," I tell her. "Don't worry, there's a charity lined up already."

"Good." She smiles. "As long as it's for a good cause, then who cares about hair, right?"

I touch my own locks. "Yeah."

Michelle smirks at me. "It's weird, seeing it like this, but I'll get used to it." She leans closer to me, "And you will too, if they decide you need to lose that hair match." I shrug. She turns to Serena. "Man, look out! There are some seriously hot bald women over here!"

Serena blushes, but most of the guys and girls at the other tables are laughing and whistling at the two of them. Tyson Kid jokingly tells Michelle, "For once, I have more hair than you."

She laughs. "Yeah, yeah. If you ever decide to shave that whacked out puffball off your forehead, give us a call. I'm sure Punk can zip that sucker away, no problem."

"Definitely," I say.

He laughs. "No thanks. I like my hair."

Michelle grins. "Can't say I didn't try." She takes a drink of her water, then looks over at me. "That was pretty crazy out there."

"Yes, it was. The promo seemed to play well, too."

"Mm." She nudges Matt. "You all right? You're being quiet."

"I'm fine," he says.

I look between the two of them, glad to see they're getting along again. "Good," she says. "I'm glad you're okay." Then she leans across the table to Gallows. "Thanks for catching me out there."

"It would have looked bad if I hadn't," he says.

Michelle smirks. "Yeah, that's why you did it."

Matt's watching the two of them, still quiet. I wonder if he's aware of the reason we needed him to do the promo tonight. Then I realize that I can't worry about Matt; he's an adult and he can take care of himself. We're friends, but it's not my job to keep him from getting hurt, right? Maybe if I believed that about him or Michelle, we'd be okay. Matt sees me watching him and says, "I saw a vending machine down the hall. Want to take a walk?"

I shrug. "Yeah, okay." I lean over and kiss Serena's cheek, then stand up and follow Matt out of the room.

It's quiet in the hallway. Seems like everyone's in catering again. "So you and Serena, huh?" he asks.

"Yep."

"When did that happen?"

I chuckle. "A couple days ago."

Matt nods. "Good for you. I always thought you two would hook up."

I know this isn't why he asked me to come with him. "What's up, Matt?"

He sighs. "I don't know. This whole thing seems so weird. I mean, Michelle joined the straightedge society, and I've got this feud with McIntyre to concentrate on, so we're going to be going different directions from here on out, I guess. And with the draft coming up… it just seems like everything's going to be different from now on."

"It is different," I say.

"And she's in there, flirting with Gallows. She hates that guy."

"They're actually getting along all right," I say.

Matt shakes his head. "That promo was brutal. The crowd loved it, but… it was bad."

"I know," I say. "And I'm sorry we had to ask you to do it, but we needed a way to show the fans that you and Michelle were over."

"It hurt," he confessed. "It still does."

I have to choose the next words carefully. "You're my friend, Matt."

"Uh oh," he says. "Those words always seemed to spell doom when you'd say them to Michelle."

I smirk. "You two really were made for each other." Damn it! That just slipped out. I see pain flicker across his face as he shrugs. "Sorry."

"At least someone still thinks that, right? So tell me, what horrible thing were you going to say with the 'you're my friend' routine? Or was that it?"

"No," I mutter, "that wasn't it. I'm glad you and Michelle are getting along again, but with your new storyline and her in the straightedge society now, you're probably going to be seeing less of each other."

"That's a given," he says, "considering how much time you guys spend out in the ring."

I nod. "I just wanted you to know, it's not personal. We're not trying to keep her from you."

"Oh, I know." He pauses by the vending machine. "She's doing that all by herself."

"I think she still feels hurt by what happened between the two of you."

"Did she say that?"

I shrug. "It's more of an impression."

"Oh." He sighs and digs out some quarters, feeding them to the vending machine, then he chooses the Pepsi button. We wait as it vends, and then he says, "I keep hoping it'll get better, that maybe one day I'll wake up and it never happened."

"Which part?"

"I don't know. Any of it?" He chuckles and grabs the Pepsi and hands it to me. "The last part especially, though. We were really good together, I thought."

"You were. I'd never seen that side of Michelle. I don't think anyone had."

"Maybe I should run her over with another box," he muses.

I chuckle. "Somehow, I think that's a bit extreme. Give her some time, and she'll work through it, and maybe you guys can try again."

"Yeah," he says, staring at the vending machine. "Maybe so."